Water World

So here it is, Friday morning, and Earthpig and I are headed to Jinx’s. I left the house to go fill up the car and left Earthpig at home to wake up. I come back home, ready to pack the car and go. Earthpig sees me, drops a packet of printouts on the kitchen table and says “There’s no such thing as a free ride.” I have no idea what he is talking about. He says, “The water heater broke and there is water all over the laundry room.” Having just walked through the laundry room, I am a bit confused. “Our water heater broke?” “No, Jinx’s and we have to go fix it.” “Ok, well let’s get on the road so we can do it,” I thought.
     
     So, on the road we went. Not speeding, but trying to get there as quickly as possible, so that Jinx wouldn’t drown. After about two hours Jinx calls and asks how long it takes for a water heater to drain because it was still leaking like a sieve. We told her it should be finished, did you turn it off at the pump? “Yes, I turned it off.” “Ok, well, we’ll be there in an hour, be patient.”       

     We finally arrived, and quickly went in the house. There was the water heater pumping out water. I asked Jinx, “Are you sure you turned the water all the way off? It shouldn’t still be pouring out like this.” “Yes, I turned it all the way.” So, out to the pump we went. “See, it is all the way off,” and turned it to show me. “Jinx! You had it all the way on.” We turned it off, and lo and behold, after 45 minutes it is drained. Earthpig and Surlymon manhandle it out of the hole, we get all the info we need off of it, and off to Lowe’s we go.

     Well, it is a 50 gallon water heater we took out, and it WILL BE  a 50 gallon water heater we put back in. Jinx lives in a triple wide, a nice house, but we all know that they have their little idiosyncrasies. You have to have a special water heater for them. The largest one they had was a 40 gallon. Wouldn’t do. So we got a 50 gallon for a frame house. “How do we plumb it for a trailer?” John, at Lowe’s, was very helpful, got us all the stuff we needed. Jinx paid and home we went.

Pouring down rain, in a 1984 Ford pickup truck, the three of us wedged in the seat, praying that the truck would get us home. The 4 speed transmission is a bit worn, it grumbled most of the way home. About 15 miles from home, I sheepishly ask, “Does anyone else smell the plastic burning?” Jinx, also sheepishly, says she does. We pet and stroke the truck, praying it will make it home. About 5 miles from home Jinx says that something is wrong with the truck, it is sliding. We lovingly talk to the truck, babying it all the way. This is all we need, broken down truck, I think it would be the straw that broke Jinx’s composure. She has held it together up till now, but this would be it. We pull into the driveway, Surlymon (who has stayed home because he wouldn’t fit in the truck) and Earthpig unload the heater, Jinx and I stay out of the way.

Earthpig installs the heater but one part is too short, so away Jinx and I go to a hardware store, Wal-Mart, anywhere that will have the part. Hardware store is closed, go figure, and Wal-Mart does not have the part we need. We call Earthpig and see if a washing machine water hose will work for tonight. “Yes,” he says, “it will work for tonight.” We get the part home, along with the pizzas we ordered and Earthpig fixes it. Now it is time to turn on the water. Jinx and Earthpig go out to the pump house to turn the water on. To shorten this already long story, Earthpig and Jinx don’t get the water turned on, although they thought they did. Fozzie, who has been at work during this debacle, goes out and turns on the water. We have water, it is hot, life is good. Saturday Jinx and I go get the part needed and Earthpig finishes the repair. So ends our experience at Jinx’s.

Schooling at 44

Schooling at 44

So, one day, while interpreting college courses, I decided to go back to school. One class at a time because I can’t handle 18 hours a semester interpreting and more than 3 of my own. So, I started with a computer course, Introduction to computers. Boy was this easy. I got an A. So, then I decided to take another easy course, Conversational Spanish. I got an A. Well, I decided to bite the bullet and take a hard class, English 101 Composition. I really was worried about this class, I am an exceptionally poor writer, but was bound and determined to get a B. I got an A.

This was my first essay:

The Beginning
One day in 1992, I was at the base airport waiting for my husband to return from a mission. Waiting with me were my children, ages eight, seven and three showing my need for a babysitter. While waiting, I spoke with a major in my husband’s unit and found that he had something I needed, babysitters. He had four sons, three of which babysat. This began my association with the Killgore clan and Jehovah’s Witnesses. A religion I never knew existed with beliefs that were new and unfamiliar. This new association would bring answers to questions I had never voiced and repercussions I was not expecting.
One day I called for a babysitter and started a conversation with the major’s wife, Charlotte.
After lining up her son, Jake, to baby-sit, Charlotte and I continued our conversation. This was the beginning of my association with the Killgores. I asked if she was going to the upcoming Christmas Party the unit was having. Charlotte told me they did not celebrate Christmas and when further prompted said that she was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Having never heard of this religion I was curious. We spoke on the phone almost daily, me asking religious questions that I had been hesitant to ask before and Charlotte answering them using the Bible. I thought this interesting; no one had ever explained their beliefs by using the Bible as their sole source.
Our conversations continued for a little more than a year. Early on one question prompted me to start taking our religious conversations seriously. This concerned the concept of heaven. Who goes there, and would animals be there? Animals figure greatly in my life and I could not imagine eternity without them. I said that if there were no animals in heaven that I was not sure I wanted to go. Her response was, “You are not going to heaven, so it’s okay”. I asked why. She said that only a select few are resurrected to heaven, the others would be resurrected here on Earth. She supported this belief by going back to the Bible and showing me where to find this information. I was hooked! This was truly the beginning of my association with Jehovah’s Witnesses. I wanted explanations. I wanted answers. Although I was not planning to convert, I decided to accept a Bible study. It was one day a week and anywhere from two to four hours. I asked many questions. After many questions and answers, I finally accepted this at the true religion. There was no pressure to convert to becoming a Witness. The study was a teaching program, from which I learned and appreciated The Truth.
My conversion has not come without effects being felt in the home. My husband is not one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but has come to accept that I believe my religion as true. In the beginning, he was not supportive of my faith, without really opposing it either. It was not long, though, until he realized that nothing was going to change my mind. Now the support is one hundred percent. Our older daughter is a baptized Witness of Jehovah and very faithful. Our son is currently having a crisis of faith, but I remain hopeful that he will return. Our younger daughter is studying and making progress. Life in your household, although religiously divided, is happy.
Fourteen years ago I started down a path I did not know I was seeking to a life I did not know I was missing. I am still enjoying a wonderful experience. I believe it has made me a better Mom; I listen to my children more rather than just yelling at them, wife; I have learned the meaning of headship and that this is not a demeaning position for a woman, and person; my relationships with others are stronger. I enjoy life more today, and have a greater appreciation of what is to come.

Who would have thought that I was able to get an A in any class, let alone English, the last time I went to college I carried a 1.3 average, now I am carrying a 4.0. Boy, is that daunting. I have to keep it up. I am taking 2 college courses now, Office Accounting and Internet Communications. I already got 100 on my first test in Internet Communications and have my first test in Office Accounting on Monday.

So, that is what I have been doing lately. Along with knitting and crocheting, but that is another blog.

The Gifts of the Year

The Gifts of the Year

Well Earthpig and I have gifted each other with fun toys this year. He bought me a car and a laptop and I bought him a ShopSmith and a 16X12 foot shop to put it in. He is now fixing up the shop so that it will have electrical and lights. He is paneling the walls with pegboard so that he can hang up all his fun things. I am excited about this too because then I can use the lathe and learn to turn. Earthpig is having a blast.

I love the car. It is a Mazda 3 sedan, 5 speed manual and very blue. That was one of the things I wanted, a blue car. Had a hard time getting it, tho, they wanted to sell me something from the lot. I figured if I was buying the least they could do is get what I wanted. Obviously, they saw things my way, finally. I got exactly what I wanted. It drives like a dream. Jinx and I took it to TeiJai's house. I really enjoy being behind the wheel, and the control of a 5 speed is wonderful.

The laptop is great too. I have it in the family room and now get to be on the computer and be part of the family. We have a wireless house now, so I can be on the internet, watch TV, and talk to Earthpig all at the same time. What fun!!! Piglet #3 likes it too because now we don't make her get off the other computer all the time.

Well, the shop should be wired by next weekend and then Earthpig will be able to build many things. He is looking at birdhouses to do first, because we have many homeless birds. We also are going to build bird feeders, we are afraid if the birds cook in their own houses we might have fires! ( After the houses and soup kitchens for the birds who knows. We will see.

And that is about all for this update. I will update more either later today or tomorrow. I do have to study, but that is another blog.

The Menagerie Continues

The Menagerie Continues
Well much has happened here in this year. We started by getting a new puppy at the beginning of the year. His name is Jaxon and he is a Rat Terrier. He is 6 months old and as big as he will get. He is about 8 pounds. He and our son’s dog played wonderfully together. Pre was a lab mix and gentle with the puppy. He has grown a lot, but not so much that he takes up a lot of room in the bed.

So, now we had 2 dogs. But sadly Pre went westward with her master when he moved to Colorado. This left Jaxon with only 6 cats to play with. He didn’t mind this very much, but the cats did. Piglet #3 also missed Pre as well as her brother so we decided to get her a puppy. There was one we saw on line that we really liked, but she had already been adopted. We went in town to look at another one. We didn’t like her so much, she was very skittish. We wanted one who would stand up to Jaxon (big as he is) and also protect Piglet #3. So away to the SPCA we went. Many puppies later we decided on Tucker. They say he is a lab mix, but we don’t see it. Time will tell. I am hoping that he won’t be over 70 pounds. That is how big Pre was. That is big enough.

Our house is again full of animals. 6 cats and 2 dogs. It is strange, our children leave the house, take their dogs, but leave their cats. I was truly expecting to be able to get rid of a few of these hairballs. But, oh well, I guess we'll keep them a while longer.

Jaxon and Tucker are playing nicely together. The cats seem to accept him, but he hasn't really tried to attack them yet. Then we'll see how they react. It should be fun.

I will try to update this more frequently. Check out both of Jinx and TeiJai's sites, they are wonderful, and they update them more frequently than I d mine.

More to come...